London Courts: Witness Support Service

Lord Beaumont of Whitley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the figure for the number (total and percentage) of the London magistrates' courts and London youth courts in which a witness support service is operating.

Lord Rooker: The witness service is run by the independent charitable organisation Victim Support, which receives grant aid from the Home Office for this purpose.
	Victim Support advises that at the end of March 2002 witness support services had been established in 36 (90 per cent) of the 40 London courts. It further advises that the remaining courts should have a service within a matter of weeks.

Rifles and Shotguns

Lord Brougham and Vaux: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their advice regarding the use of shotguns and rifles near (a) public highways and byways; (b) areas subject to provisions of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000; and (c) populated areas.

Lord Rooker: It is the responsibility of any person using a rifle or shotgun to ensure that any shots are made safely. Before starting to shoot they should be aware of all footpaths, bridleways and rights of way and ensure that the angles of fire are safe.
	It is not a specific offence to shoot across a public right of way. But doing so could amount to a common law nuisance; wilful obstruction of the highway under the Highways Act 1980, Section 137; or intimidation under the Highways Act, Section 130, if any person is threatened in any way.
	Under Section 161 of the Highways Act 1980, it is an offence for any person, without lawful authority or excuse, to discharge any firearm within 50 feet of the centre of any highway which comprises a carriageway if, in consequence, any user is injured, interrupted or endangered. This applies to rights of way where there are vehicular rights only.
	Under the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 14, paragraphs 23 and 26, it is an offence to discharge a firearm in any street.
	When it comes into force, the new right of access to open country and registered common land under Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act may be subject to exclusions or restrictions. An owner or agricultural tenant will have discretion to close or restrict access for up to 28 days each year and applications may be made for further closures or restrictions in the interests of land management and safety, for example, where it is proposed to shoot over land.
	If the police have reason to believe that a shooter represents a danger to public safety they can revoke the holder's certificate.

Young Offenders on Bail

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What measures are being taken to prevent young offenders on bail offending further.

Lord Rooker: We have today made an order which will bring into force Section 130 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 across England and Wales. It will do so on 22 April 2002 in the 10 street-crime initiative areas—London, Manchester, West Midlands, Merseyside, Thames Valley, Lancashire, Avon & Somerset, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire—and on 16 September 2002 in the rest of the country.
	This section will give new powers to the courts to remand a 12 to 16 year-old into secure detention where they are of the view that the child or young person has a recent history of repeatedly committing imprisonable offences while on bail or in local authority accommodation. In such a case the court must be satisfied that only a secure remand would protect the public from serious harm from him or her or that only a secure remand would be adequate to prevent the commission of further imprisonable offences by him or her.
	We have also made an order which brings into force Sections 131 and 132 of the same Act which allow courts to tag 12 to 16 year-olds while on bail or on remand to local authority accommodation. This will increase the number of options available to the courts for dealing with children and young people who repeatedly offend while on bail as an alternative to custody. It will come into force on 22 April 2002 in the 10 street-crime areas listed above, plus Northumbria, and in the rest of the country on 1 June 2002.

Courthouse Closures

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Mr Wills, Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department, on 7 March (HC Deb, 407W), how many and which of the courthouses closed are more than 10 miles away from the nearest operational courthouse.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: I attach a table which sets out the courthouses listed in the Answer of 7 March (HC Deb, 407W) and whether they were more than 10 miles away from the nearest operational courthouse.
	However, further information on courthouse closures has been received from the magistrates' courts committees since that Answer and there were five courthouses of which my department had not been informed previously. I have therefore added those closures to the attached list and identified them.
	The Government's policy is that decisions on the number and location of magistrates' courts in England and Wales are for the individual magistrates' courts committees to determine, in consultation with their local paying authority. In addition, the magistrates' courts committees are not statutorily required required to inform the Lord Chancellor's Department of proposed courthouse closures. [Note "+" has been used to mark the entries that are new and ("*") has been used to mark the closure dates that have changed 1 ]
	
		
			 MCC Magistrates' Courthouse Closure Date More than 10 miles  
			 Bedfordshire Apmthill 01 Jan 00 
			 Bedfordshire Biggleswade 01 Jan 00 Y 
			 Bedfordshire Dunstable 01 Jan 00 
			 Bedfordshire Leighton Buzzard 01 Jan 00 Y 
			 Cambridgeshire March *31 Dec 98 Y 
			 Cambridgeshire* Newmarket 31 Dec 98 
			 Cheshire Warrington Patten Hall 01 Apr 01  Previously incorrectly listed as both Warrington Patten Hall and Worcester 
			 Cheshire Macclesfield Park Green 01 Apr 01 
			 Cumbria Appleby 31 Mar 98 
			 Cumbria Keswick 30 Apr 00 Y 
			 Cumbria Appleby 31 May 00 Y 
			 Cumbria Windermere 31 May 00 
			 Cumbria Wigton 31 May 00 Y 
			 Derbyshire Alfreton 01 Jan 01 Y 
			 Derbyshire Ashbourne 01 Jan 01 Y 
			 Derbyshire Bakewell 01 Jan 01 Y 
			 Derbyshire Matlock 01 Jan 01 
			 Devon and Cornwall Bideford 30 Apr 01 Y 
			 Devon and Cornwall Exmouth 30 Apr 01 Y 
			 Devon and Cornwall Kingsbridge 30 Apr 01 Y 
			 Devon and Cornwall South Molton 30 Apr 01 Y 
			 Devon and Cornwall Teignmouth 30 Apr 01 
			 Devon and Cornwall Tavistock 30 Apr 01 Y 
			 Devon and Cornwall Axminster 04 May 01 
			 Devon and Cornwall Tiverton 04 May 01 Y 
			 Devon and Cornwall Newquay 30 Jun 01 Y 
			 Devon and Cornwall Womborne 31 Aug 01 
			 Dorset Christchurch 31 Mar 99 
			 Dorset Gillingham 30 Sep 01 Y 
			 Durham Barnard Castle 31 Dec 98 Y 
			 Essex Braintree 31 Dec 97 
			 Essex Clacton on Sea *31 Oct 97 Y 
			 Essex Saffron Walden *31 Dec 98 Y 
			 Gloucestershire Stow on the Wold 30 Jun 99 Y 
			 Greater London Marlborough Street 31 Mar 98 
			 Greater London Clerkenwell 31 Dec 98 
			 Greater Manchester Ashton under Lyne (Manchester Road) 31 Aug 97 
			 Greater Manchester Duckinsfield 31 Aug 97 
			 Greater Manchester Leigh 31 Mar 01 
			 Greater Manchester Middleton 31 Mar 01 
			 Gwent Bargoed *31 Dec 97 
			 Gwent Monmouth *31 Dec 97 Y 
			 Gwent Pontlottyn *31 Dec 97 
			 Gwent Pontypool *31 Dec 97 
			 Hampshire & Isle of Wight Southampton (Commerical Road) 31 Aug 01 
			 Hertfordshire Bishop's Stortford 31 Mar 98 Y 
			 Hertfordshire Hatfield 31 Mar 98 
			 Hertfordshire Hitchin 31 Mar 98 
			 Humberside Bridlington 09 Nov 01 
			 Humberside Brough 09 Nov 01 Y 
			 Humberside Driffield 09 Nov 01 Y 
			 Humberside Hull (Guildhall) 09 Nov 01 
			 Humberside Hull (Lowgate) 09 Nov 01 
			 Humberside Pocklington 09 Nov 01 Y 
			 Humberside Withernsea 09 Nov 01 Y 
			 Kent Sheerness 31 Dec 98 Y 
			 Kent West Malling 31 Dec 98 
			 Kent Gravesend 09 Jun 00 
			 Lancashire Lytham 31 Dec 98 
			 Leicestershire Lutterworth 31 Jul 98 Y 
			 Lincolnshire Market Rasen 31 Mar 98 
			 Norfolk Diss 31 Dec 98 Y 
			 North Wales Corwen 31 Dec 98 Y 
			 North Wales Abergele 31 Dec 00 
			 North Yorkshire Stokesley 31 Dec 97 Y 
			 North Yorkshire Malton 06 Feb 98 
			 North Yorkshire Ripon 01 Aug 98 Y 
			 Northumbria Hebburn 05 Jun 97 
			 Northumbria South Shields (Kepple Street) 05 Jun 97 
			 South Wales Pontawade+ 09 Oct 97 
			 South Yorkshire Thorne 31 Aug 97 Y 
			 Staffordshire Lichfield 31 Mar 00 
			 Staffordshire Leek 31 Mar 01 Y 
			 Staffordshire Womborne+ 01 Sep 01 Y 
			 Suffolk Felixstowe 31 Dec 98 Y 
			 Suffolk Haverhill 31 Dec 98 Y 
			 Suffolk Saxmundham 31 Dec 98 Y 
			 Suffolk Stowmarket 31 Dec 98 Y 
			 Surrey Chertsey 31 Mar 98 
			 Surrey Farnham 31 Mar 98 Y 
			 Surrey Oxted 31 Mar 98 Y 
			 Sussex Arundel+ 01 Dec 01 
			 Thames Valley Abingdon 31 Mar 99 
			 Thames Valley Henley on Thames 31 Mar 99 
			 Thames Valley Windsor 31 Mar 99 
			 West Mercia Bromsgrove 31 May 97 
			 West Mercia Bridgenorth+ 31 Jan 02 Y 
			 West Mercia Leominster+ 31 Jan 01 Y 
			 West Mercia Ledbury 31 May 97 
			 West Yorkshire Morley 31 Mar 99 
			 West Yorkshire Pudsey 31 Mar 99 
			 West Yorkshire Keighley 01 Apr 00 
			 Wiltshire Chippenham (Market Place) 30 Jun 97 
			 Wiltshire Wootton Bassett 2 Oct 00 
		
	
	+ Where a court have been added.
	* Where information changed.

Courthouse Closures

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many courthouse closures have taken place since November 2001; and how many more courthouses are planned to be closed.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: In relation to the Crown Court and county courts, only Chepstow and Monmouth county courts have closed since November 2001. A proposal to close Gateshead county court is currently going through public consultation, but no final decision has been made. Public consultation has also taken place on the proposal to close Gravesend county court. Following the consultation the decision has been taken that the court will not close until an alternative venue can be found in Gravesend to hold hearings.
	No Crown Court closures are planned, with the exception of the satellite Crown Court at Knutsford, where public consultation started on 10 April. There is an on-going process of consultation in relation to the civil courts which started with initial consultation through the Modernising the Civil Courts consultation process in 2001. This is looking to future methods by which the civil courts will deliver services. The aim is to maintain a sitting presence in current locations and in fact I anticipate an overall increase in the number of places where sittings take place, particularly in rural areas where there is a civil justice need not currently being met.
	The Government's policy is that decisions on the number and location of magistrates' courts in England and Wales are for the individual magistrates' courts committees to determine, in consultation with their local paying authorities. Although the department collects details concerning the closure of magistrates' courthouses only quarterly in arrears, we are aware so far that since November 2001 Arundel magistrates' courthouse was closed on 1 December 2001 and Bridgenorth and Leominster courthouses were closed on 31 January 2002.
	The magistrates' courts committees are not statutorily required to inform the Lord Chancellor's Department of proposed courthouse closures. However, a paying authority can lodge an appeal to the Lord Chancellor against a proposed courthouse closure. The department has received seven appeals that concern the proposed closure of the following courthouses:
	
		
			   
			 Magistrates' Courts Committee Area Courthouse 
			 Kent Tunbridge Wells 
			 Norfolk Fakenham 
			 North Yorkshire Pickering 
			  Richmond 
			  Whitby 
			 Thames Valley Thame 
			 Wiltshire Trowbridge, Devizes

Terrorism: Causes

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether any progress has been made on proposals to convene a major international conference to examine the causes of terrorism; and what action they have taken in this regard.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The next meeting of the United Nations General Assembly Working Group which discusses this issue will take place in October. The UK is actively involved in discussions in this forum.

Gibraltar

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many Gibraltarians will be entitled to vote in any referendum which may be called to decide the future constitution of Gibraltar.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The number of those entitled to vote in any referendum on the future of Gibraltar would be determined by the franchise criteria to be established at the time. The franchise criteria for the 1967 referendum were set out in an Order in Council in 1967.

Gibraltar

Lord Hoyle: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 12 March (WA 64–65), whether the Chief Minister of Gibraltar has the right to vote on decisions reached at talks under the two flags, three voices formula.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: As I explained in my previous Answer to the noble Lord on 12 March, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar would participate in the Brussels Process with his own and distinct voice on the British side of the table: a formula known as three voices, two flags. It would be for the people of Gibraltar to decide in a referendum whether any proposals that emerge from the current Brussels Process talks should be implemented.

Gibraltar

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they are taking to reassure the people of Gibraltar that they will act in accordance with the preamble to the 1969 Constitution which states that the British Government "will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes".

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Her Majesty's Government have repeatedly made clear that they stand by the constitutional commitment set out in the preamble to the 1969 Gibraltar Constitution. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister reaffirmed this in another place on 18 and 20 March.

Kosovo

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are satisfied by the progress made on the reconstruction of Kosovo over the past 12 months.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Much has been achieved over the past year. Successful elections in November, in which both Kosovar Albanians and Serbs participated, led to the establishment of the new provisional institutions of self-government. With the active support of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo and the rest of the international community, progress is being made on rebuilding Kosovo's infrastructure and developing its economy. Kosovo's health, education and social service systems are also being developed.
	The UK has contributed to this progress through the Department for International Development's bilateral programme for reconstruction and development, which totals £5 million in 2002, along with a contribution of £2 million to the 2002 Kosovo consolidated budget. The UK has also provided £21 million to the European Union's programme in Kosovo, which totals 175 million euros in 2002.

Iraq: Exports

Baroness Billingham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether any goods subject to strategic controls have recently been approved for export to Iraq.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a licence to export laboratory equipment for use by secondary schools in Northern Iraq. The export included 6.25kg of sodium sulphide, which is subject to the Dual-Use Items (Export Control) Regulations 2000, as amended. The UN Iraq Sanctions Committee approved this export to Iraq under the Oil for Food programme (OFF). Under OFF Iraq is allowed to export unlimited quantities of oil to fund the purchase of humanitarian goods. The export is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria.

Defence Medical Agencies

Lord Brookman: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress has been made with the quinquennial review of the defence medical agencies.

Lord Bach: As my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Moonie) indicated in his Written Answer in another place on 15 December 2000 (Official Report, cols. 274–275W) to my honourable friend the Member for Gedling (Mr Coaker), the review has covered the functions and organisation of the Ministry of Defence's four medical agencies—the Defence Secondary Care Agency (DSCA), the Defence Dental Agency (DDA), the Defence Medical Training Organisation (DMTO) and the Medical Supplies Agency (MSA)—and other aspects of medical provision. He announced the results of the initial phase of work in his Written Answer in another place of 17 October 2001 (Official Report, cols. 1223–24W) to my honourable friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr Wright).
	The review team has now completed its work and we have placed a summary of its conclusions in the Library of the House. In brief, the main points are that:
	there must be a clearer focus on delivery of the two key defence medical outputs—deployable operational medical capability, and timely appropriate healthcare for service personnel;
	accountability for the delivery of these outputs by both central and single-service authorities must be defined unambiguously, as part of a clear tri-service strategy and plan;
	the Surgeon General (SG), working to the Vice Chief of Defence Staff, will be empowered to undertake effective oversight and direction of the DMS in meeting the key output requirements, including those elements which remain under single-service management;
	a stronger partnership will be established between the DMS and the National Health Service;
	management capabilities throughout the DMS will be strengthened, drawing on expertise from the parent services and, where relevant, the NHS.
	The Defence Medical Services will be re-aligned and restructured to focus more effectively on the two key defence medical outputs. The DSCA will be disestablished on 31 March 2003, with its training-related functions transferring to an expanded medical training agency, and healthcare commissioning being undertaken by a new group within the Surgeon General's staff. The MSA has now transferred into the Defence Logistics Organisation as of 1 April 2002.
	The review has provided an important opportunity to take stock of the progress that has been made since the announcement of the new strategy for the DMS at the end of 1998. It is no surprise that it has concluded that while much has been done over the last three years, there are further steps to be taken—and changes to be made—that will help the process of restoring DMS capability and ensuring that key defence medical outputs are delivered. The Government are committed to achieving those aims and, subject to the normal consultative process, to implementing the outcome of the review.

Afghanistan: Unexploded Ammunition

Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their assessment of the risk to innocent men, women and children of unexploded ammunition in Afghanistan; what indications this has for future military policy; and what action they are taking.

Lord Bach: There is a considerable quantity of unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan, much of it dating back several years, and this obviously poses risks to the population. One task for the international community will be to provide assistance in clearing this and humanitarian agencies specialising in mine clearance are already present in Afghanistan.
	The Department for International Development has so far allocated £3.2 million through the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for humanitarian mine action interventions in Afghanistan. This will cover mine clearance operations, training and mines awareness activities. The Ministry of Defence has also posted a military officer to assist the UNMAS in Kabul.
	The coalition puts great care into its selection of targets and weapons. We only target military objectives that would provide a military advantage to the coalition and all munitions are designed to explode on impact. This approach will remain.

Ecolabelling

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any plans to establish a national ecolabelling scheme similar to the Blue Angel scheme in Germany.

Lord Whitty: We have no plans to do so but we continue to support the development of the EU ecolabelling award scheme, which encourages greener product standards across the whole of the single market. We asked the Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the Environment to examine the case for setting up a national scheme as well as part of its remit to look at the role of product information in driving up standards of environmental performance. The committee's advice (in its first report, Choosing Green) was that it would not be cost-effective to set up a national ecolabelling award scheme at this stage and that resources for improving product information could be applied more effectively on other initiatives. The Minister for the Environment has indicated to the chair of the committee, Dr Alan Knight, that these other options seem more promising at this stage, and should be examined further. The committee has been assisting with that further work.

GM Contamination of Hybrid Oil Seed Rape

Baroness Golding: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have received the report being prepared by the Canadian seed authorities on the possible causes of the GM contamination of hybrid oil seed rape exported to the UK in the spring of 2000.

Lord Whitty: The report has recently been issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Financial Reporting Standard 17

Lord Higgins: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider that the introduction of the Accounting Standard Board's Financial Regulation 17 will have a more stringent effect on those implementing it than the alternative proposal for European legislation.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: Accounting standards are a matter for the Accounting Standards Board, which is independent of government. Financial Report Standard 17 sets out how companies must show the costs of retirement provision in their accounts. Companies must comply with FRS17 by 2003.
	There is a proposal that EU companies should comply with international accounting standards by 2005. The international standard corresponding to FRS17 (IAS 19) currently allows companies to smooth the effects of fluctuations in pension scheme asset values in their balance sheets, although the International Accounting Standards Board is reviewing this standard. Smoothing is not permitted by FRS17.

Older People in Residential Care

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will provide a summary of the differing levels and types of state support available to older people in residential or nursing care in the United Kingdom since October 2001.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: On 1 October 2001 the Government delivered on their commitment set out in the NHS Plan to bring in free nursing care for people paying all of their nursing home fees themselves. This is to meet the costs of registered nurse time spent on providing, delegating or supervising care in all settings. Residents receive a contribution of £35, £70 or £110 per week, depending on their level of need.
	The department provides support through the benefit system to older people in residential care and nursing homes in a number of ways. Benefit rates are set out in the table below:
	Benefit rates and amounts from 8 April 2002 For customers over 60 who currently receive income support, including a residential allowance, their benefit from 8 April will be:
	
		
			   
			 IS personal allowance £53.95 
			 IS pensioner premium £44.20 
			 *IS residential allowance (outside London) £64.40 
			 TOTAL £162.55   *The residential allowance for people living in Greater London is £71.65 
			 Customers living in local authority residential accommodation (Part 3) and currently receiving income support: £75.50   People living in residential care and nursing homes: 
			 IS personal allowance £53.95 
			 IS pensioner premium £44.20 
			 TOTAL £98.15 
		
	
	From 8 April 2002 the preserved rights rates of income support were abolished and local authorities became responsible for arranging and funding care for those customers. The residential allowance and Part 3 rates of income support also ceased to be paid for all new claims from 8 April. This arrangement will provide a fairer system of funding for long-term care and will concentrate resources at the point where decisions are made on the appropriate care for individuals. This will ensure more effective and flexible support to the vulnerable people in our society.
	In addition, severely disabled people living in residential care and nursing homes may be entitled to attendance allowance or disability living allowance, where the resident meets the whole cost of their place in the home entirely from their own resources, and without recourse to help with that cost from public funds.
	Retirement pension, and other benefits (such as incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance) which the customer is entitled to are also payable. However, these are taken into account as income when assessing a claim for income support.

Mixed-sex Wards

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 19 March (WA140) concerning mixed-sex wards, whether it is normal practice to allow three months to elapse before replying to letters from a Member of either House of Parliament; and, if not, what is the usual space of time between the receipt of letters and the replies sent; and
	Why the Department of Health did not acknowledge or reply to a letter concerning mixed-sex wards sent by Lord Stoddart of Swindon to Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 12 December 2001 until 11 March 2002; and whether they will give an assurance that the response time to letters from Members will be considerably reduced in future.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Information is published annually by the Cabinet Office on the volume of correspondence from Members of Parliament received by Ministers and agency chief executives; departments' and agencies' handling targets; and their performance in meeting these targets. The department's current service first targets are to answer all correspondence within 20 working days. The report for 2001 is due to be published shortly.

Haemophilia

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many recorded incidents of infection there have been (a) among children under 16 with haemophilia since recombinant treatment was introduced for them in 1998; and (b) among adults with haemophilia using plasma-derived products since the same date.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Since 1998 the Medicines Control Agency has received no reports of infections associated with recombinant treatment among children under 16 with haemophilia and no reports of infections in adults receiving plasma derived products for the treatment of haemophilia. Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions are made voluntarily by doctors, dentists, pharmacists and coroners.